Global child survival and development partners marked the one-year anniversary of the Child Survival: Call to Action when more than 200 attendees participated in the Behavior Change Evidence Summit here this week. This summit marked a broad commitment to providing science-based tools and information to caregivers, families, communities, and health systems on how to accelerate progress on child survival in the last 1,000 days leading up to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) deadline of December 2015.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and U.K.’s Department for International Development (DFID) announced plans today to build a global investment platform that reimagines how to support breakthrough solutions to the world’s most intractable development challenges.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State of Qatar Fund for the Reconstruction of Haiti (Qatar Haiti Fund) signed a partnership agreement today for earthquake reconstruction efforts, including the building of permanent houses, a vocational school and a commercial area.

Seventeen aspiring photographers from Pakistan’s tribal areas will share unique perspectives on their communities at an international photo exhibit at the United States Institute of Peace on Wednesday, June 12 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. The exhibit is part of a broader program designed to support balanced and independent journalists in one of the most challenging operating environments in the world.

On June 3, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Devex announced the launch of the Devex Impact Strategic Advisory Council. The Council guides the development of the Devex Impact website to increase its utility as a collaborative platform for corporations, NGOs, foundations, donors and other private sector actors working on public-private partnerships for development.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), will host the Behavior Change Evidence Summit for Child Survival June 3-4 to ensure we are all doing what works best to end preventable child deaths and ensure healthy growth and development. The Summit brings together global leaders to determine what is needed to change health-related behaviors in lower and middle income countries (LMICs) to reduce under-five mortality.

Initiative will expand P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water program to provide at least 200 million liters of clean drinking water over the next two years

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Monday, May 27 with Procter & Gamble (P&G) to protect the lives of women and children in Burma. Under this MoU, USAID and P&G will seek to develop a multi-year, multi-program Global Development Alliance that will invest at least $2 million over the first two years to provide access to 200 million liters of clean drinking water, promote better hygiene behaviors, and build capability linked to improvements in delivery of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) services. P&G and USAID have previously partnered to provide clean drinking water in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Malawi, Nicaragua and Pakistan, among others.

Yesterday, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced seven new winners in the Agency’s open competition for development ideas. These projects are co-funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures WASH for Life Partnership – an initiative to support DIV grantees improving water, sanitation, and hygiene in developing countries. These seven grantees are testing new and cost-effective solutions to water challenges around the world.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is supporting a new public-private research partnership between the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG) and India-based Vibha Agrotech to develop new climate-resilient varieties of rice and wheat, two of the “big three” primary crops required to feed the world.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Qualcomm, Inc. today announced a global commitment to expand their collaboration to improve access to technology to further economic and social development in developing and emerging markets.

Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah, joined members of Congress – Senator Richard Durbin, Senator Chris Coons, Congressman Earl Blumenauer and Congressman Ted Poe – to release the U.S. Government’s first Water and Development Strategy. This strategy recognizes the vital role water plays in ensuring the health and economic well-being of people around the world. In addition, it sets out to represent a fundamental shift at our Agency toward a new model of development – defined by public and private partnerships, use of new technology, and emphasis long-term results.

Today, at a keynote address during the Global Food Security Symposium of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah announced several new activities to further advance progress of U.S.-led efforts to fight global hunger, poverty and undernutrition. Supported by USAID through Feed the Future, the U.S. Government's global hunger and food security initiative, these announcements include new programs to make effective technologies available to smallholder farmers and enable new opportunities through infrastructure development.

Today, in Geneva, Switzerland at the World Health Assembly, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) signed the Global International Health Partnership (IHP+) Compact, joining more than fifty other countries and organizations committed to improving the health of people around the world and coordinating the delivery and monitoring of foreign assistance to global health programs. At the core of IHP+ are seven principles, including better coordination of aid, support for country-led plans, and transparency and mutual accountability of work.

Today, the United States and Tunisia launched an initiative to support the growth of small- and medium-sized businesses, boost trade, and promote broad-based economic growth. The initiative, funded and led by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will provide training in Tunisia on the U.S. small business development center model and provide technical assistance to the owners and employees of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to expand trade opportunities in the region and internationally.

On May 21 at 9:00 a.m., U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah will deliver remarks at the 2013 Chicago Council Global Food Security Symposium. The remarks will address the U.S. Government’s efforts, through Feed the Future and support of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, at ending extreme hunger and poverty through agriculture highlighting the significance of science, trade, and business.

A new 5-year guarantee has the potential to unlock immense private sector financing, accelerating efforts to achieve MDGs

Today, The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Swedish International Agency for Development Cooperation announced a five-year partial guarantee to help speed up the procurement of essential medicines and health supplies by governments and civil society partners. The guarantee is part of a major scale-up of the Pledge Guarantee for Health, which will help to increase the impact of donor funding and ultimately improve healthcare access for the millions who are helped by foreign aid.

Today, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) hosted its 6th Annual Small Business Conference. USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah addressed over 200 small business leaders emphasizing the importance of partnering in development assistance programs. This year’s conference theme focused on “USAID and Small Businesses: Turning Challenges into Opportunities.”

On May 21, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah will join Senator Richard Durbin, Congressman Earl Blumenauer and Congressman Ted Poe to release the U.S. Government’s first Water and Development strategy.

On May 16, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah will deliver remarks at the Agency’s sixth annual small business conference. The event provides small business leaders an opportunity to learn how they can participate in development assistance programs.